Individual Croquembouche

There is no parallel English word for croquembouche, but the literal meaning is “crunch in the mouth,” from the words croquer (“to crunch”) and bouche (“mouth”). This ancient, elaborate French specialty consists of small custard-filled cream puffs, or profiteroles, glazed with caramelized sugar.

In this recipe, the cream puffs are assembled into individual servings, but in the classic version, they are formed into a large cone-shaped confection typically